A sad day indeed. In addition to his legendary stature, Castro may well have been the most genuine and sincere politician of the 20th century in his quest for justice for Cuba and for humanity. He had a zest for life, and a romanticism about him which no other revolutionary has been able to match. His death and that of his comrades was virtually 100% guaranteed when he set sail for Cuba on the Granma, and yet he survived, fought, and won, and then proceeded to hold out against the empire to the north for over half a century. Cuban armies then helped destroy the vestiges of European colonialism in Africa, while armies of Cuban doctors marched across the world saving and improving millions of lives. Castro survived hundreds of assassination plots, almost a dozen US presidents, betrayal by the snakes in the Kremlin in the 90s, and then, as Comrade CheBurashka told me recently, "left on his own terms."

This was a real, genuine human being:

He won't be forgotten.

"The thing about capitalism is that it sounds awful on paper and is horrendous in practice. Communism sounds wonderful on paper and when it was put into practice it was done pretty well for what they had to work with." -MiG

The triumph of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959, led by Fidel Castro, is the most significant event in the history of twentieth century Latin America. While Fidel Castro may remain one of the most controversial figures of that century, even his fiercest critics acknowledge that he has made Cuba a sovereign nation whose independence is respected internationally. His country has made undeniable social achievements in the fields of education, health, culture, sport and international solidarity. He will forever be the symbol of national dignity, someone who is always aligned with the oppressed and all those who fight for their emancipation.